Yazdagird succeeds his brother as Sháh and rules wickedly. His son Bahrám is born and brought up by the Arabs, to whom he returns after a visit to, and imprisonment by, his father. Yazdagird is warned of his death by the astrologers and tries to evade his fate, but is killed by a mysterious horse. The Íránians, resolved that none of his family shall succeed him, elect Khusrau. Bahrám, supported by the Arabs, claims the throne, proves his right to it by ordeal, and becomes Sháh.

The authorities are divided on the question whether Yazdagird (Isdigerd I., A.D. 399-420) was a son of Bahrám, the previous Sháh, or of Shápúr. Tabarí takes the former view,*

Mas'údí the latter,*

which leaves it still uncertain as to which Shápúr— Shápúr, son of Urmuzd, or Shápúr, son of Shápúr—was intended.

Like Aknaton of Egypt Yazdagird seems to have been a man of remarkable character. He sought peace and ensued it, he attempted to win over furiously raging fanatics to the principles of religious toleration, failed in the attempt, tried to prevent persecutors from persecuting—an act which in those days was regarded as a kind of persecution in itself—assumed the title of “The Most Peaceful” on his coins, and acted up to it in his political relations with foreign states even when most tempting opportunities for aggrandisement presented themselves, was honoured, at least in legend, by being appointed formally by will the guardian of the son of an Eastern Roman Emperor—an office which he is said to have accepted and faithfully executed—died a mysterious death, and received from his subjects the titles of “The Sinner” and “The Harsh.” The indictment of him in Tabarí is very severe. Among his other enormities it is recorded that if any one dared to address him on behalf of another he said immediately: “How much does he pay you, for whom you ask me, or what have you received already?” on which Professor Nöldeke observes that he knew his Persians. Apparently he did, and the native chroniclers, drawn for the most part from a class that could not understand or appreciate him, have covered his memory with infamy. Against them may be placed a contem­porary testimony from another source:—“The good and merciful king Yazdagird, the Christian, the blest among kings, whose memory may be a blessing and his future life still more beautiful than his former; every day he did good to the poor and wretched.”*

This perhaps was written after he had begun to punish the Magi for interfering with the Christians, and before Abdaas, bishop of Ctesiphon, had burnt down, and refused to reinstate, the great Fire-temple of that city*

—acts that forced Yazdagird's hand and compelled him to allow the Magi to retaliate, which they did in drastic fashion.

§§ 2-5. This account agrees closely with that given in Tabarí,*

but scarcely can be regarded as historical, being, as Professor Nöldeke says of the latter, too poetically finished.*

§ 2. Surúsh is the name of the messenger of Urmuzd, but is used here as a rhyme-word. Hushyár, the name of the other astrologer, means “wise.” In Tabarí the astrologers advise the Sháh that Bahrám should be brought up in a foreign land.*

Nu'mán was prince of Híra during the reign of Yazdagird and was succeeded by his son Munzir. Firdausí reverses the re­lationship, Munzir being the more prominent historically of the two. The poet makes him monarch of Yaman.*

§ 6. It is highly probable that such a youth as Bahrám did not get on well with his father, and he may have been sent to Híra for a while in semi-disgrace.

The name of the Roman ambassador that pleaded for him— Tainúsh—is a form of Theodosius, the reigning Eastern Roman Emperor at the time—Yazdagird's ward according to the legend.*

§ 7. We have here one of the legends localized in Firdausí's own neighbourhood, Sav being the spring of Tús—the poet's birth-place. Similar instances of such localization have occurred already.*

Tabarí, however, says that Yazdagird's death is sup­posed to have taken place in Gurgán (Hyrcania or Mázandarán), and omits the details about the presage of the astrologers and the expedition to the spring of Sav. According to Tabarí the horse was sent in answer to the prayers of Yazdagird's oppressed subjects. Professor Nöldeke thinks that conspirators took ad­vantage of the absence of the Sháh in distant Hyrcania to murder him and then, to cover themselves, spread abroad a fiction to account for his end, and that the various stories of the death of this Sháh may be referred to a common origin—the version of the Bástán-náma made by Ibn Mukaffa.*

§§ 8-13. This account agrees closely with that of Tabarí.*

Historically it would appear that Yazdagird, at the time of his death, had another son living—Shápúr—whom he had made king of Armenia some years previously. Shápúr, hearing that his father was in ill-health, returned to court and after Yazdagird's death attempted to seize the throne, but there was another candidate for it whom the nobles preferred, and Shápúr was assassinated. On some of Yazdagird's coins a second name appears, which may be read either as Ardshír or Bahrám.*

There seems no doubt that Yazdagird had made himself so unpopular with the Persian nobility and clergy that they were anxious that no son of his should succeed him. Bahrám, moreover, was con­sidered probably to be too much under Arab influence as Tabarí expressly states.

§ 10. As soon as Jawánwí sees Bahrám he is conscious that he is in the presence of the rightful Sháh, on whom the divine Grace of kingship already had descended.*

§ 12. The selection of a successor to Yazdagird by a process of elimination is not in Tabarí.

We had instances of the mutilation of prisoners in the reign of Shápúr, son of Urmuzd.*

It is said too that Alexander the Great, on approaching Persepolis, was met by a band of about 4000 Greek captives whom the Persians had maltreated grievously.*

§ 13. Bahrám is said to have been twenty years old at the time of his accession.*

It was followed by a great persecution of the Christians and war with Rome. He had to put himself right with the Magi and also to find employment for his turbu­lent chiefs wearied of the political self-restraint of Yazdagird, The Most Peaceful.